In Darkness and in Light
by APoeticTragedy3721
Summary: The Guardians are called together in news of a new Guardian rising. However, they do not know who that Guardian is or where to find them. Meanwhile, Pitch is devising a plot to get rid of the Guardians-namely Jack Frost-in order to gain back his legacy. Will the Guardians be able to find the sixth in time to stop Pitch from rising to power?
1. Prologue

((Hi, guys! After watching Rise of the Guardians about 50 times, I got the inspiration for a fanfic. This is more of a tester just to see if others would be interested if I pursued the idea. If not, I'll just scrap it. So..yeah! Enjoy!))

**Prologue: The Start**

_"What is snow?"_

_"__**He**__ is snow."_

_"Who is he?"_

_"The man who has forced us to live on the limits of reality. He was wronged us and needs to be punished. I want you to find him and end him for once and for all."_

_"Yes, Pitch."_

* * *

"I hope you have reason for calling us here, North. Easter's in less than two weeks and I have eggs I need to paint."

"I have called you here for very important reason," a heavy accent trilled. "We have important news from Man in Moon."

"Well get on with it, North; haven't have all day!" Bunny retorted, impatiently tapping his foot.

"Wait!" A feminine voice chirped, followed by the beating of wings. Tooth drew herself away from her position by the window to rejoin the group located in the center of the room. "We're missing someone!"

"Oh?" North hummed, furrowing charcoal eyebrows together. "Who are we missing?"

Bunny crossed his arms across his chest in an aggravated gesture while Sandy cocked his head to glance around the room. The sound of doors slamming open simultaneously reverberated into the air, followed by a voice. "I'm here, I'm here!" An annoyed huff rose from Bunny as the young man sprinted forward.

North's perplexed expression dropped into a welcoming grin upon spinning around and seeing the younger Guardian trotting toward them. "Jack! Glad you could make it!" he greeted, clasping a friendly hand on the young man's shoulder once he had finally joined the group.

A short chuckle—free spirited and genuine—came from Jack Frost's lips as they slid into a smirk. He leaned casually on his staff, blue eyes gleaming with a sort of child-like mischief as he appraised the group before him.

"It's about time you showed up, Mate," Bunny murmured, tossing Jack an impatient stare to which he simply shrugged off with a smile. The two weren't the most intimate Guardians of the group, yet they could tolerate each other—to some extent.

"It's good to see you, Jack!" Tooth beamed, her attention drifting more to his teeth than to Jack himself. Jack, noticing Tooth's fixation on his teeth, cleared his throat, to which she allowed a sheepish smile to grace her lips. "Sorry, they're just so white!" she marveled.

"Can we get on with the point?" Bunny piped up.

"Ah, yes!" North made his way over to the globe. "Man in Moon has informed me that there is to be a new guardian coming to us."

"Isn't that a good thing?" Jack questioned, quirking an eyebrow.

"Yes and no."

"What do you mean 'yes and no'?" Bunny inquired, squinting in apprehension.

"A new guardian is good because we can protect lights better," he gestured to the lights illuminating the countries covering the globe, "but then that means that we need _help _to protect lights."

"You think Pitch is back?" Tooth asked, fluttering nearer to North. Her forehead creased in concern.

"Guys, what are you so worried about? If we beat Pitch, then we can beat him again!" Jack spoke up optimistically. Beside him, Sandy nodded enthusiastically, agreeing with Jack's positivity.

North shook his head solemnly. "Man in Moon says we cannot beat Pitch if we do not have fifth guardian."

"Well where are they?" Jack questioned.

"I don't think it's that easy, Mate," Bunny added.

"That's the problem, we don't know who or where the fifth guardian is," North concluded.

"Then we'll just have to find them," Jack announced, leaping up to perch on his staff. He was confident, his moral causing Sandy to rock onto the balls of his feet, eagerly nodding, while earning a smile from Tooth.

"It's not that simple, Jack—"

Bunny was cut off by North, who suddenly had a change in heart. "Jack is right!" he bellowed, stretching out his arms. "We will find sixth guardian and defeat Pitch for good!"


	2. 1: Enter Pandora

****((Hi, guys! I'm so sorry for the mix-up! I obviously can't count! I'm pretty sure I've made all changes that were necessary. Once again, sorry for the screw up! You were all right. Sixth guardian, my bad! Anywho, here's the first chapter. It's kind of short/scattered, but I'm trying to rope it in. Feedback is welcome positive or negative! Thanks for your support!))

**Chapter 1: Enter Pandora**

"I don't get it!" North bellowed, slamming his fists on one of the workbenches, causing a meticulous house of cards to collapse in on itself and flutter to the floor. Nearby, a yeti let out an exasperated moan and shook his head, getting to work on picking up the cards.

"Woah, there," Jack muttered, side-steeping the yeti who flashed him an angry stare before making his way over to North. "What's wrong?"

"Why doesn't Man in Moon tell us who sixth guardian is?" He shook his head, leaning his forearms on the workbench.

"Maybe it's a puzzle," Jack suggested, planting his staff firmly on the ground and leaning against it. "I mean, it certainly wouldn't be as fun if we knew everything."

"I suppose you're right, Jack Frost."

"Of course I am," He said, allowing a sly smirk to cross his lips as he straightened his posture.

North let out a chuckle and clasped his shoulder. "I guess I'm not the only one who can feel it in my belly."

"No, you're still the only one who can do that," Jack assured with a smile.

* * *

A group of children were crowded on the outskirts of town, huddled in a circle. The tallest child, a boy with shaggy brown hair and appraising eyes stared into the group, scrunching his nose up at the children in front of him. "Since I'm leader, I make the rules," he announced. No one seemed to oppose his declaration, so he went on. "Abby, Donald, if you want to be a part of my group, you have to go into the woods for three minutes."

Half a dozen curious pairs of eyes glanced toward the announced duo who was presumably twins. The boy, a few inches than his sister furrowed his eyebrows at the other child in charge. "You know playing in the woods isn't allowed!" he huffed. His sister—with innocent eyes the size of a doe's—clutched onto the fabric of his sweater, causing him to harden his stare at the leader.

"Exactly why you have to do it!" The larger child reasoned. "Unless you're scared," he added as a mocking jab.

"I'm not scared!" Donald retorted.

"Oh I think you are! Afraid of the Boogie Man! What a baby!"

The tallest child chuckled, causing the others around him to echo his laughter. Abby kept her hold on her brother's sweater while Donald stared coldly at the group. "There's no such thing as the Boogie Man." Donald responded to their amusement.

"Then why don't you go into the woods then?"

"Fine! Let's go, Abby."

The laughter subsided as Donald marched toward the woods, an undaunted expression on his freckled face. Abby timidly scurried after him, golden pigtails bouncing behind her as she stumbled to catch up. The pair carefully approached the start of the forest, Donald briefly peering into the foliage as he led.

"Ha, I can't believe they're gonna do it!" The brown haired child crooned, fixing the brim of his baseball cap.

Donald hesitantly placed a foot forward, his will and courage fleeting with each centimeter he drew nearer to the woods. Suddenly, there was the sound of a twig snapping, which made the duo jump. Abby clung to her brother, shielding blue eyes from the darkness as Donald backpedaled toward the group of children.

A large, black wolf emerged from the brush, hollow golden eyes staring at the children before it. Its head was lowered, shoulders slanting as it slinked out toward them. Its jowls curled back, revealing a mouth full of jagged, white teeth that fit together like a jigsaw puzzle. From somewhere deep within its throat, it growl emanated, rolling into the atmosphere around the children as they cowered.

Behind the creature stood a tall man, lanky in stature and pale as a corpse. Dark, sunken eyes stared at the children as a twisted smile played on his face.

"N-no Boogie Man, huh Jake?" Donald managed to stutter.

"Shut up and run!" the eldest child instructed, making a run for it. His posse followed suit, scrambling after him. Donald, as much as he didn't want to let Jake win, took off after him, tugging Abby along after him.

"They're beginning to see me again," Pitch cooed, stroking the face of his nightmarish creature. "Pandora, where are you?" He called into the forest behind him.

"I'm here, Pitch," a feminine voice responded, followed by the quiet rustling of leaves. A petite girl emerged from the patch of trees, amethyst eyes greeting black ones.

"I believe it is time to rise back to power, wouldn't you say, Pandora?"

"Yes, Pitch."

"We need to finish off those guardians for once and for all." Pitch stroked the wolf tentatively before looking back at the dark-haired girl. "Are you ready to make the first move?"

"Of course, Pitch. I was born ready."

"Excellent. Now leave me and do what you were trained to do."

"Yes, Pitch. I won't return until I have taken care of Jack Frost."


	3. Mr Winter

((Hi, guys! I'm sorry I haven't updated in so long! It's been a busy...month, pretty much. But yeah, here's just a short little continuation. Tell me what ya'll think!))

**Chapter 2: Mr. Winter**

"Jack, where are you going?" Tooth called out, wings flapping haphazardly to catch up to the white-haired teen.

"It's been a week and we still haven't found the sixth guardian," he replied, propping his staff over his shoulder as he walked. "He obviously isn't coming to find us, so we'll just find him."

"It's not that easy Jack," she admitted, hurrying behind him. "Easter's in a few days so Bunny has his hands full, North's keeping contact with the Man in the Moon, and Sandy and I have our work cut out for us!" She stretched her arms, implying the magnitude of both her and Sandy's everyday schedule. "We haven't got time to go searching for the sixth guardian," she concluded.

"That's exactly why I'm going," he reasoned, offering an easy smile only Jack himself could manage. He pushed the doors leading out of North's workshop before stuffing his free hand into the pocket of his hoodie and striding outside into the wintery air.

Tooth furrowed her eyebrows, following after him. She shuddered as the cool air slinked its way around her body, making her breath visible. "But Jack, you don't know where to even begin looking! And besides," she trialed behind, "Like North said, if the Man in the Moon spoke of a new guardian, something dangerous is brewing! What if you run into Pitch?"

"Pitch?" Jack shrugged, a lopsided smirk pulling at his lips. "I'm not afraid of him."

"Jack, this is serious," she replied solemnly, cutting off his path down the slope by flying in front of him. "Because of _you_, we were able to stop him."

"It wasn't just me—"

She cut him off with a stern glare he had rarely seen from her. "We wouldn't have been able to defeat him without you. You're the one he accredits to his demise, Jack. If he's coming back, you're the one he wants."

For a moment, Jack was silent. Cerulean eyes drifted from Tooth to the mounds of snow surround them, staring listlessly into the accumulations of flakes. After a few moments of quiet contemplation, he raised his gaze to her once more, an undaunted stare colder than ice piercing through her. He was Jack Frost, and she knew that it was nearly impossible to deter him once he put his mind to something.

"I'm not afraid of him, Tooth," he repeated.

"Jack—"

She trailed off when he flashed her one of his signature smiles. "I promise I'll be careful," he assured earnestly, laying a hand on her shoulder.

She felt her wings droop, her voice die in her throat before able to be released. All of the guardians had grown so close, Jack was almost like one of her children—if she would have any—and sending Jack away on his own made her stomach drop. What if Pitch really was back? What if Jack was in danger? Would the rest of the guardians be able to make it to him in time?

No. She had to shake those thoughts of her head. Jack was a very capable guardian and he had displayed that fact the last time they encountered Pitch. Jack was unwavering like the harshest of winter storms.

"Fine," she sighed reluctantly. "But you'd better take care of those pearly whites!" she warned, allowing a playful smile to grace her lips.

"Anything for you, Tooth," Jack assured, returning the smile.

And with their exchange of smiles still hanging in the air, Jack was off.

* * *

It was cold, but she was assured that she'd be able to find Jack Frost somewhere in the vast starkness known as the North Pole. Tugging her parka closer to her small frame, she ventured through the accumulations of snow to find the wintery guardian for Pitch. Who Pitch was to her was beyond her comprehension. To be honest, she hadn't a clue who he really was or why he was so desperate to dispose of Jack Frost. But all the same, she wasn't completely sure of who _she _was.

The only thing she could recall about her identity was from the information Pitch had supplied her. She recalled waking up one night in the middle of a forest, confused as to who she was and what she was doing there in the first place. The sound of rustling had drawn her attention toward a long, slender being peering out behind a tree. As she was about to make a break for it, he approached her with arms wide open.

"Oh, Pandora!" he crooned, making his way toward her. "I've been looking everywhere for you! Are you alright?"

"Who _are_ you?" she had questioned warily, hesitantly rising to her feet.

"You don't remember? Why—I'm your uncle. Uncle Pitch."

"Uncle Pitch?"

"Oh my, that accident must've caused you to lose your memory," he murmured solemnly, shaking his head.

"Accident?" she questioned, quirking an eyebrow.

"Oh yes dear," he crooned, laying a hand over his eyes as if shielding them from the memory. "A horrible car accident had thrown you and your parents from the vehicle." He dropped his hand and lowered his voice to a whisper. "I'm afraid they didn't make it."

For some odd reason, she felt no remorse. She had no memory of anything, her parents, the accident, nothing. She felt like a bundle of numb nerves, trying to function in the world for the first time.

Eventually, after some reasoning, Pitch had persuaded Pandora to live with him. It wasn't until a few weeks after moving in that he had begun to teach her the ways of "dark magic" and begun introducing the idea of so-called "guardians" such as the "Tooth Fairy" and "Jack Frost". At first, she thought he was mad, but eventually, she submissed to his crazy-talk.

Now, she was the in the middle of the Antarctic looking for someone by the name of "Jack Frost".

Blowing on her hands to keep them warm, she braved the cold chill of the wind and trekked onward. Her eyes struggled to stay alert as the bitter wind nipped at them, making them tear and disorienting her vision. She hadn't realized that the ground underneath the snow was uneven until she felt her weight shift onto nothingness.

She felt herself fall.

* * *

"Hey, are you alright?"

Lavender eyes fluttered open to the sound of a young man's voice. Pandora squinted as her vision stabilized and focused on the silhouette of a lean person flaunting a blue hoodie kneeling beside her. "….Who are you?" she breathed.


End file.
